Hiking or biking the serene desert trails of Brown’s Ranch, it’s easy to get lost in the rugged natural beauty of saguaro-studded landscapes, bursts of spring wildflowers and precariously balanced boulders.

The sands of time have a way of honing the past, shaping and polishing it so that generations to come can judge it more clearly. At times, the decades or centuries reveal horrors we hope to never repeat. But sometimes what is revealed is nothing less than greatness.

Bringing the natural beauty of the desert to discriminating clients through her art, Dyana Hesson gathers inspiration from a variety of sources. Each painting is a work of love and, like the desert, the unique elegance of each piece reveals itself during the weeks and months during which it is created.

Light pours in through the windows of Sam Pratt’s Paradise Valley home studio, illuminating abstract contemporary paintings on their canvases, the rustic flagstone floors and curated collections of things that inspire her: sketches from friends, a scrap of fabric, an artfully-arranged display of silver shoes and sculptures created by her son, who is a metal artist in Sedona.

February 10, our community will have another opportunity to lend a hand. An off-Broadway showing of “Late Nite Catechism” will be held in the ballroom at Anthem Golf and Country Club’s Ironwood Clubhouse to benefit Austin Cuaderno, a 24-year-old ASU senior pursuing his degree in health sciences.